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The Milwaukee River’s rebirth has brought a boom in condo and apartment buildings along its banks downtown. Christina Honold and Jason Warwick check out the view from the balcony of a one-bedroom unit they were touring in 2013 at The Edge, a condo development at 1902 N. Commerce St.

RiverWalk, condo developments transformed Milwaukee riverfront

It was a former industrial site, covering 5 acres along the Milwaukee River's west bank, just north of downtown.

That riverfront location made the parcel a great spot for development: a medium-security prison.

That was the thinking in 1983, when the state bought the former Trostel tannery site on Commerce St., about a block upriver from Pleasant St. More than 30 years later, it's the home to Trostel Square, a condo and apartment community that is among a series of developments that have transformed the riverfront from the North Ave. bridge to Milwaukee's harbor.

"The river has meant a lot to people, and to business and commerce," said developer Gary Grunau. His projects include the transformation of the former Schlitz brewery into Schlitz Park, a business park between the river and King Drive that has lately undergone a revival.

Just how much the river has meant can be seen in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis of Milwaukee's riverfront property values.

While there have been new developments along the Milwaukee River in other southeastern Wisconsin communities, most notably Grafton and West Bend, most of the activity over the past 15 years has occurred along a stretch of the river in and near downtown Milwaukee, where public walkways run along most of the banks.

The total fair market value of riverfront properties between North Ave. and the Milwaukee harbor increased by nearly 150% from 2001 through 2013, according to a review of city assessment records. That added more than $520 million in value, with more than half of that amount coming from condos.

During the same period, the total value of all Milwaukee properties increased by 44%.

Developers and investors have been attracted by a cleaner river tied to new public improvements — including the RiverWalk, pedestrian bridges, streets and green space. That's helped spur additional downtown development, especially as more residents create demand for restaurants, stores and other retail businesses.

While new housing continues to be developed throughout downtown, the river remains a key driver of investment.

"They don't make any more waterfront property," said Ryan Schultz, who is developing apartments overlooking the river. "Obviously, there's a shortage that creates a demand."

Schultz owns HSI Properties LLC, which plans to demolish a vacant industrial building at 1887 N. Water St., downriver from the Humboldt Ave. bridge, and replace it with the four-story River Pointe building.

River Pointe would have 87 apartments, with monthly rents of about $1,225 for a 700-square-foot unit. The building would include underground parking and an outdoor swimming pool.

Across from that site, and upriver on the west bank, Kendal Group Ltd., led by Ken Miller, is razing two warehouses along N. Riverboat Road, between N. Humboldt Ave. and N. Weil St., to make way for Walker's Landing.

That $19.5 million development will feature 113 apartments in two buildings of up to five stories.

Young people and 'empty-nesters' flock

Riverfront development booms downtown

The total fair market value of riverfront properties between North Ave. and the Milwaukee harbor increased by nearly 150% from 2001 through 2013, according to a review of city assessment records. That added more than $520 million in new value, with more than half of that amount coming from condos. During the same period, the total value of all Milwaukee properties increased by 44%. Here is a look at the current value.

Much of what's happening along the downtown riverfront is the result of a younger generation that wants to live, work and play in urban areas.

"They're putting down roots here," said developer Stewart Wangard.

Those new residents also include "empty-nesters."

Jan Fellah lived in New Berlin for more than 25 years before moving to Beerline B Apartments, on the river's west bank just north of the Pleasant St. bridge.

Her scenery now includes sleek rowing shells gliding past the apartment building. And Fellah enjoys taking her dog for a walk on the RiverWalk, especially when the weather is nice.

"I absolutely love it down here," Fellah said. "I wouldn't move back to the suburbs."

Jim Fricke and his wife, Debra Miller, have owned a condo on Commerce St., just north of the Milwaukee Rowing Club boathouse, for nearly 10 years. They moved to Milwaukee from Seattle after Fricke was hired at the Harley-Davidson Museum, where he is curatorial director.

The views, which include wildlife, are part of the attraction, Fricke said.

"Looking out on a river instead of a street obviously has some appeal," he said.

On a recent sunny spring afternoon, the activity included people kayaking on the river, while others strolled along the RiverWalk.

The location also is convenient to their jobs, including Miller's administrative position at the Milwaukee Public Museum. And the RiverWalk's role as a public gathering spot has helped them develop friendships with other nearby residents.

"It's a great neighborhood," Fricke said.

RiverWalk boosted condos

It seems obvious that developers would want to build on sites near the Milwaukee River.

But it hasn't always been that way.

For decades, downtown office buildings turned their backs to the river. Apartment high-rises that were developed downtown — such as Juneau Village in the 1960s and Yankee Hill in the '80s — boasted only about their views of Lake Michigan.

For most of Milwaukee's history, much of the riverfront construction was industrial — including such notoriously dirty businesses as tanneries. Long before pollution control laws took effect, the river served as a sewer.

But water quality has improved since more stringent water pollution regulations began taking effect in the 1970s. Another big help was the 1997 removal of the North Ave. dam, which allowed the current to flow faster and generate more oxygen.

Also, the construction of the RiverWalk helped draw development.

The idea of public walkways along downtown's riverfront originated in Mayor Henry Maier's administration. It was pushed by Maier's successor, John O. Norquist, after he was elected in 1988.

Two years later, Norquist and the Common Council approved spending around $10 million on filling in many of the gaps within the RiverWalk from Clybourn St. to Highland Ave. on the east bank, and Clybourn to Pleasant St. on the west bank. A pedestrian bridge at Highland was included.

About 20% of the funding was collected from commercial property owners within the RiverWalk business improvement district, with the rest coming from the city.

That central portion of the RiverWalk was built just as developers in the mid-'90s were tapping into rising demand for downtown apartments and condos. Housing was built facing the river, along with restaurants and other businesses.

Norquist expanded the RiverWalk into the Historic Third Ward and north of Schlitz Park. Additional segments, funded by a mix of city and private dollars, have been added during Mayor Tom Barrett's tenure.

Today, there are still gaps. But Milwaukee's RiverWalk runs almost 2 miles between the harbor and Humboldt Ave. And each new riverfront development, such as the 2007 completion of Manpower's headquarters in Schlitz Park, brings another RiverWalk segment.

Along with new buildings, older commercial properties have gained new life through the RiverWalk.

They include CityCenter, two adjoined buildings at 735 N. Water St. Owner Compass Properties LLC converted one of the properties, a long-vacant office building, into a new home for Gold's Gym, which opened in 2011.

The gym and CityCenter's Tazinos restaurant create "an energy that you can't duplicate" at the building, said Sheldon Oppermann, Compass vice president.

No guarantees of success

To be sure, just because a development is on the river doesn't guarantee its success.

Photo Gallery

Boats tie up along the Milwaukee River as a band plays in Pere Marquette Park.

Peter Renner has developed condo buildings in the Historic Third Ward and Walker's Point neighborhoods that promptly sold all their units.

But Renner said he has drastically cut rents to find tenants for the street-level commercial space at Harbor Front and Hansen's Landing, Renner's neighboring condo buildings overlooking the river on Erie St., south of Polk St.

The problem is a lack of nearby parking for customers of the businesses, including two restaurants, Renner said.

But many riverfront buildings have filled both their residential and commercial space.

One of the biggest riverfront developers is Mandel Group Inc., led by Barry Mandel.

The firm's condo and apartment communities along the Milwaukee River include a planned apartment development combined with an Adventure Rock indoor climbing facility, atop a bluff just south of North Ave.; RiverCrest condos, upriver from Humboldt Ave.; Trostel Square; The North End, an apartment and retail development that is proceeding with a third phase at the former Pfister & Vogel tannery site, on the east bank at Pleasant St.; Marine Terminal Lofts, with condos and commercial space in the Historic Third Ward, at Milwaukee and Erie streets; and the planned Domus apartments, just downriver from the Marine Terminal building.

Trostel Square was the first of those projects. It began with what Mandel called a simple strategy.

"We were going to buy as much riverfront and lakefront land as we possibly could," Mandel said.

Prison proposal dropped

The former Trostel tannery site was available after the state dropped the prison proposal when it ran into loud opposition from Grunau, city officials and homeowners in the nearby Brewers Hill neighborhood.

"It was ridiculous," Grunau said about the prison plan, from then-Gov. Tony Earl.

The state in 1992 took a $1 million loss to sell the site back to the tannery, after it agreed to raze the buildings and do an environmental cleanup.

A few years later, the Norquist administration obtained Common Council permission to pay for rebuilding Commerce St., which runs past the Trostel site and other vacant riverfront properties, to help encourage new housing.

Mandel met with Daniel Solomon, a San Francisco planner hired by the city to help create a conceptual master plan for Commerce St. and the nearby properties. He and Solomon walked the area from Pleasant St. to North Ave.

"After taking that walk, I realized what kind of potential it had," Mandel said.

In 1999, word leaked out that Mandel was considering a development at the Trostel site. The following year, Mandel broke ground on Trostel Square after obtaining a $700,000 state grant to help complete the site's environmental cleanup.

Other condo and apartment developments were built along the river. Higher-end rental units became more popular after the 2007 burst of the housing bubble and the subsequent recession.

Even during the recession, and slow economic recovery, riverfront investment and development have continued.

In 2012, Wangard Partners Inc. bought 2.7 acres overlooking the Milwaukee River at N. Water and E. Brady streets. The firm plans to develop 150 to 175 apartments, along with commercial space on the site, which includes the former Habhegger Wheel and Axle buildings.

Wangard has showed the site to a restaurant operator who is considering opening a business within the future development. The strength of the location, overlooking the river near both downtown and Brady St., wasn't lost on the prospective tenant.

Wangard, who plans to file a detailed proposal with city officials, said his firm has been studying the site for years.

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It was owned by investment groups led by developers Boris Gokhman and Walter Shukh, who lost it through foreclosure to AnchorBank. Wangard heard the property was going to become available and agreed to buy it even before the bank had taken possession of the land.

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The major induistries had been dumping raw sewerage and industrial waste into the river for about 100 years. I'd say the river looks ok by now because of massive cleanups. How're doing out there in Waukesha? Wealthy people used to travel out to youse guys because of your pristine springs. How's that working out for you lately? Let's build another road and a strip mall, aina?

This area has come so far from the time it was a haven for drug addicts and when rooming houses populated the river area. The answer to all of the problems in Milwaukee back in the 1980s was to build prisons or turn it into a shopping mall. Just about everything north of Wisconsin Avenue downtown was pretty much ignored.

Everyday I'm amazed at how Milwaukee continues to transform itself. The 80s and 90s were extremely tough on cities like Milwaukee but we continue to fight. Billions of dollars in reinvestment and much more to come. I'm on the rivers every year and every year I see improvements. The rivers are not open sewers thanks to the Clean Water Act and the deep tunnel. And don't get worked up by Obamalied. He or she is incapable of putting a real thought together.

I would just like to say that before the Milwaukee bashing begins in earnest today, the lakes around western Waukesha are far from pristine. I've been in the water out there and it's kind of gross. So let's think about all our rivers and lakes, not just those that happen to flow through Milwaukee. Actually, the Milwaukee bashing should start pretty soon. The Milwaukee bashers are still sleeping. They're tired with all the late night video game playing and porn surfing. Plus their basement bedrooms stay dark and they're not sure what time it is.

I first moved to MIlwaukee in 1978 and fell in love with it. But there's no denying it had a lot of problems. The river really was nasty and there were porno stores on west Wisconsin. The lakefront was dreary, the Valley was foul and the Third Ward was forbidding. Commerce Street was overgrown with weeds and trash. I don't think most people even knew it was there.

It is astonishing how much has been accomplished in 35 years or so. Anyone who doesn't see that doesn't want to.

Milwaukee has become clean and fresh and alive. It's exciting that there is still so much more in the works. The area around the US Bank building alone is going to be transformed in the next three or four years. The Inner Harbor will become an even greater success than the Valley.

Everything that can be done to improve the quality of life here will draw more people and more business. That will increase the tax revenue so the city can spend more on social services, police and street repairs.

Even though an urban lifestyle does not appeal to me anymore, the changes in MKE are awesome. I've lived here my entire 55 years and have seen the positive changes. Life in the 'burbs is so seperated and secular. One only has to read the comments on JSO that expose the hatred and intorerance of the ditto heads.